Heney skidmore



UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE. A

HENRY SKIDMORE, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

BRONZING-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 86,875, dated February9, 186i).

To all whom it may concern:v

Be it known that l, HENRY SKiDMoRE, of Mount Vernon, in the county ofWestchester and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Bronzin g Machines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure lrepresents a sectional elevation of a bronzing-machine constructed inaccordance with my improvement, and Fig. 2 a plan of the same with thelid or cover to the surplusbronze box removed.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

The machine which is the subject of this specification is moreespecially designed for bronzing printed sheets of paper, foil, or othermaterial, the printing on said sheets either being letters or anyfanciful design.

The invention consists, first, in a combination, with an endlesssheet-carrier or revolving cylinder, of a bronzing-roll, clothed withfur or other suitable material, and knife for regulating the supply ofbronze-powder to said roll, and serving to smoothen the furred or softclothing to the latter, while the sheetcarrying cylinder, or sheetthereon, which travels at a higher velocity than the bronzingroll, but,as regards its contiguous surface, in the same direction, operates toroughen the fur or clothing,l and to detach the powdered bronze held bythe same, and to cause it to be laid on the printed sheet.

The invention also embraces, in combination with fur or soit clothedbronzing-roll, removable partitions or slides to the hopper whichsupplies the bronze-powder to the roll, said slides being of concaveshape at their lower ends, corresponding to the periphery of the roll,and being arranged to fit any of a series of grooves made in the hopper,for the purpose of restricting the supply of bronzepowder to the roll,according to the width of the sheet or location of the printed matterthereon to be bronzed. .v

Likewise, the invention includes a combi` nation of a fur or softclothed roll with the sheet-carrying cylinder, so arranged and operatingin relation to the latter as to take up the surplus powdered bronze fromthe printed sheet, and to burnish or polish the bronze'd surfaces, saidroll being furthermore arranged to project into a surplus-bronzereceptacle, where it is relieved ofthe powdered bronze held by it, orclogging of the same prevented, by the action of a revolving brush, andthe latter in its turn kept free, and the surplus powdered bronzecollected in the receptacle by means of a bar or striker, which thebristles of the brush, in the revolving of the latter,

catch against, and thereby spurt or detach thepowdered bronze. Y

The parts of the machine, too, are so'arf ranged as that every facilityis afforded for' examining the condition of the work as it passes fromunder the bronzing-roll,and for ascertaining whether said roll has beenproperly adjusted for the performance of its work.

To enable others skilled in the art to which this my improvement relatesto make and use the saine, I will now proceed to describe the same withreference to the accompanyingl drawing.

A represents the sheet-cylinder, which revolves or is drivenv in thedirection indicated by arrow o in bearings made in side frames to themachine.

B is theffed-board, that serves to supply orY feed in the printedsheets, which, as the cylinder is rotated, are caught by fingers a, andcarried round by the cylinder toa point or place of delivery. Thesefingers, means for operating them, and means of detaching or freeing thesheets from the cylinder after performance of the work, are or may besimilar to those employed in printing-presses, and, being no part of thepresent invention, need no minute description here.

Over the cylinder A, and preferably a little in front of it, is arrangeda roll, C, driven to rotate in direction of the arrow w, and covered orclothed with fur b, or other soft and suitable material of ltolerablyeven thickness, but preferably fur. This roll G has its fur surface orperiphery supplied with bronze-powder from a box or hopper, D, underwhich said roll works, and in the ends of which it has its bearings.Said box or hopper D is orshould be made vertically adjustable by aslotted connection of it with the side frames of the machine, for thepurpose of allowing said hopper to be set closer and harder or lighteron the roller C, to regulate the pressure under which the sheets receivethe bronze. The printed surfaces of the sheets' are bronzed by thepassage of the latter, through means of the carry: ing-cylinder A, underand past the bronzingroll C.

Attached to the one side or front of the hopper D is a knife,E,.arranged to project within the hopper, so as to rest or press uponthe fur b, the side piece of the hopper to which the knife is attachedbeing adjustable up or down to regulate such pressure. This knife Eserves to regulate the amount of bronze on the roller C, and to lay itthereon by the smoothening of the fur b, said roll C turning at acomparatively slow velocity to the cylinder A, or periphery thereof, onwhich the sheet is carried. The motion from' the cylinder A to thev rollC may be communicated from pulleys by a belt, c, or otherwise.

Thus it will be seen that the printed sheet. passes under the fur b ofthe roll C at amuch greater speed than said bronzingroll C runs it,which action (more or less) roughs up the fur, and so causes the sheetto fake off bronze from the roller.

The sides of the hopper D are formed internally with a series ofvertical grooves, d, into or down which fit slides F, to vary, asit-were, the capacity of the hopper, by confining the bronze orbronze-powder to or over so much of the roll C as is necessary to coverthe printing on the sheet, according to the work to be done, andwhereby-that is, by adjusting the slides F in different grooves d-asurplus dis tribution of bronze on the roll is prevented, and much wasteof the` powder thereby avoided. These slides F are of concave form ontheir lower ends, corresponding to the rotundity of the roll C, into thefur of which they enter, to give closeness to the portion of the hopperthus partitioned off for retention of the bronzepowder.

The cylinder A, or sheet thereon, is uncovered or exposed to View for acertain distance in rear of the roll G, for the purpose of ascertainingwhether said bronzing-roll has been properly adjusted relatively to thecylinder A to perform its work. This is important, for if the roll C benot set down hard enough the ink on the sheet will not be covered wellby the bronze, while if set down too hard theink will be wiped off andblurred by the bronzingroller.

Such facility for examination is secured by a detached and relativearrangement to the cylinder A of a surplus-bronze receptacle, G, which,carries wiping devices, and free or uni nclosed character of saidcylinder immediately in rear of the bronzing-roll C.

In the continued motion or rotation of the sheet by the cylinderA, withthe loose bronze hanging, as it were, all over its printed surface orsurfaces, said sheet passes under or past a wiping apparatus. Thisapparatus consists of a surplus-bronze receptacle or box, G, set at asuitable distance in rear of the cyliuder A, and which may be adjustablerelatively thereto, said box 'carrying on its side next to the cylinderA, and so as to work partly within and partly outside of or through saidbox, a roll, H, driven to rotate as indicated by thev arrow x, andcovered with fur or other soft clothing. This roll H, traveling asindicated, serves to wipe off the bronze hanging loose on the printedsheet, and to burnish or polish the bronzed surfaces. To prevent thisroll H from becoming clogged with the surplus bronze, the latter isbrushed out of the fur clothing of said roll by means of a brush, I,arranged within the receptacle G, and rotating as indicated by the arrowy, and this brush kept free or clear by causing its bristles to come incontact with a bar, J, so as to spurt or detach the bronze. In this waythe wiping apparatus is preserved clear and in working order, and allsurplus bronze-powder saved or economized by its collection within thereceptacle G, from which it may be drawn by opening a slide, f.

The printed and brouzed sheet, thus cleaned of loose bronze, is, by thecontinued motion of the cylinder A, carried forward to its point orplace of delivery on the under side of said cylinder, and to prevent itsfree end from pre- Inaturely dropping it may be guided at its edges bysprings g, and ultimately pass over a roller, h, and brush t', whichlatter answers to detach the sheet from the cylinder after the `fingershave released hold of it, and to direct it onto a ily-board, from whenceit maybe taken to dry.

Vhat is here claimed, and desired to be scoured by Letters Patent, isi 1. The combination, with an endless sheetcarrying device or cylinder,A, of a bronzingroll, C, clothed with fur b, arranged` to travel j inrelation to each other, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the bronze box or hopper D, knife E, soft-clothedbronzing-roll (l, and sheet feeding or conducting cylinder A, arrangedto rotate, as regards its periphery, at a higher velocity than the rollC, and in relation thereto, essentially as herein set forth.

The hopper D, havin provided with removable slides F, arranged to fitsaid grooves, and made concave at their lower ends, for operation incombination with a soft-clothed bronzing-roll, C, as and for the purposeor purposes described.

4. The brushroller I, revolving in `contact with the burnishing-rollerH, for freeing it of the surplus bronze-powder, substantially as setforth.

5. The arrangement, essentially as specified, of the wipingy apparatusand surplus-bronze receptacle Gr to the cylinder A and bronzingroll G,with its box or h relatively to the sheet-cylinder A, substantially asdescribed.

lll". SKIDMORE.

Witnesses:

HENRv T. BROWN, A HENRY PALMER.

g grooves (l in it,and

opper D adjustable

